Whatsapp…just give me the Call already…!!

This is the thing the world is talking about. Everyone. From the newbies, to the experts and the uninitiated. The most popular free messaging app just got more popular. Whatsapp has introduced voice calling facility for android users. I am no expert in this, because, I am one of the unlucky ones, who have not got the feature yet. But for the past few days, this feature has rented a massive space in my head.

How does it work??

Simple. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). In simple terms, instead of using your cellphone network provider to carry your voice across, this system uses your internet provider. It may be the same as your network provider(if you are using mobile data), or it can be a high speed wifi. The advantage? Simple. Data charges are much much lower than call charges. If you happen to have wifi, you are indeed blessed.

How do I get it??

This is the tricky part. We’ll go over the thing stepwise…

1. Update whatsapp. You will need atleast version 2.11.561. The latest version which recently became available on whatsapp.com is 2.12.7. Download the APK and install it.

2. Once you have got your whatsapp version correct, now you need an invite. Someone who already has whatsapp call activated has to give you a call. This serves as the invite. As far as I am aware, a missed call will not work. When you get the call, accept it and keep the call for a couple of seconds. (Remember, both of you must have internet at the time, either wifi or mobile data)

3. Hang up. Close and restart whatsapp (preferably go to application manager, and force stop whatsapp, and restart our phone). If all goes well, you should see whatsapp has changed into a 3-tabbed view-calls,chats and contacts.

The Catch…

Then what’s the damn catch? Aha…many people have been complaining that they have not been given the facility despite receiving the call and having the latest whatsapp version. The way I see it, this seems to be a problem with the android version. I am not sure, but from what I have seen you need at least Android version 4.4(Kitkat) to get whatsapp calling. Also I don’t know if everyone with kitkat has got this facility or not.

This is because, whatsapp call is still in the beta testing phase. Whatsapp has released no official notification regarding the call feature. If you can’t get it, wait for some time. Let whatsapp release it officially.

Voice Quality:

I have heard people complain that both parties in the call need to have a good net connection for the call to be perfect. If one party has a slow connection or 2G data, the voice seems to lag apparently. I have received calls through this feature, and the quality was perfectly fine (both of us had good wifi connection). Again, this is still in its infancny, and knowing whatsapp, they will dish out something good eventually.

So that’s all, if you have any doubts, do mention in the comments…I will try my best to clear them…